a maladroit romance
by pyr0technic
Summary: At twenty five years old, he is quite possibly in young, awkward love with his male rival and best friend. It had its advantages, he had to admit, with the lingering taste of wine on his lips.


Of all the ways for two people to get together, Phoenix had to agree that this most certainly had to be one of the most unorthodox.

It was a long, complicated process of him being oblivious and the other hesitant, but when the moment finally came and Miles had finally confessed how he felt - Phoenix had the lovely response of choking on air, spluttering, "Are you serious?" and running away.

No wonder Miles refused to talk to him for a week.

This one week spent at his office with his ever faithful assistant, however, finally brought some new things to light. He finally realized that _maybe_ he didn't feel disgusted by that confession at all. Maybe he didn't even feel bothered by it.

_Maybe_, now, this was only a maybe - maybe he was more than okay with it.

"Okay, let's put it this way," Maya had said, stopping her pacing to stand in front of her boss with a finger on her chin. "How would you feel about being in a relationship with him?"

Phoenix rolled his eyes at her seriousness. "You're not my love counselor, Maya. Besides, it's ridiculous. I'm... straight."

"That's not what I asked!" She kicked.

"Ow!" He was sure he bruised.

Maya glared. "Now answer what I asked you."

Phoenix exhaled slowly in frustration. Yes, telling Maya was definitely not a good idea. But then again, his nosy assistant would have figured it out anyway. He and Miles had been meeting up more frequently after his return from Europe. Of course, they were meetings completely platonic in nature; it's just that Maya would have misinterpreted them.

She did, in fact. "Nick, why did you come back to work yesterday with a fancy umbrella?"

So he got caught in the rain with Miles. Big deal, he was just being a good friend when he lent him his umbrella. Granted, walking together underneath it was slightly awkward since they were so broad-shouldered and had to walk close together.

He snapped back to the present after thinking about all of that. "I... don't really know," he answered truthfully.

"You're hopeless." Maya facepalmed as she moved back behind the desk to sink into Phoenix's chair, appearing emotionally taxed from her boss's antics.

Maybe those meetings weren't so platonic after all, Phoenix was forced to ponder. Was there anything that could have alluded to that fact?

There was Miles' constantly getting flustered when Phoenix joked around, but he always accounted that to his already uptight personality.

_This is confusing..._

Maya made sure to tell him that Phoenix had no hope whatsoever in his life when she left work that evening, running off with a cheery smile and mischievous eyes. That was strange. What did she know that he didn't?

But Maya was Maya, Phoenix reasoned with himself when he came home that evening. He went through all his bedtime rituals before shutting off his lamplight to settle underneath the covers.

His eyes were wide open.

_Damn it. This situation has gotten me so riled up I can't even sleep._

And then it hit him - how weird was it that he couldn't get sleep over something like this?

_Well, he's your best friend. Of course it's going to affect you._

Phoenix didn't want things to be awkward between him and his friend - but with a sigh, he realized - that's exactly what he had done, wasn't it? He had practically run away the moment Miles had told him the truth.

He should've been glad that Miles told him, though. He wouldn't want him to suffer with his infamous matters of the heart, as he always had. He was growing, and that was good. Yet Phoenix could only flush in embarrassment as he replayed the situation in his head over and over.

Just what did this all mean? Why couldn't Phoenix just come up with an answer for it all?

_It's just because I've known him for so long. _

That, and he had only dated twice in his life before. A girl in high school, and Iris throughout his college years. The former was insignificant, the latter - not so much.

He decided to start with Iris. He supposed at his naive age of twenty one - he really was quite in love with the girl who dyed her hair red and flashed pretty smiles to deceive him and love him at the same time. She was very elegant and smooth and carried herself with grace - something he admired about people.

Mia reminded him of Iris just a little bit in that one way. Hell, even Miles carried himself with a dignified air most of the time. It wasn't feminine; quite the contrary, actually. His poise; his contrast with Phoenix was almost... alluring; admirable.

Phoenix frowned madly the thought.

_What the hell kind of a word choice was that? Good God, I'm turning into_ him.

He had got one thing from that: he found Miles alluring and admirable. But still, were those feelings romantic? The only time Phoenix had ever felt strongly romantic for someone was for one Iris of Kurain Village. The feelings he felt for her were... oh, God.

He could feel the blood drain from his face and his heart skip a beat at that moment. These feelings of "admiration" he felt for Miles... were scarily similar to those he felt for Iris.

_No no no. It can't be. Iris was a girl, she was different. I could never feel exactly the same about two people so different._

And while this was true, he couldn't stop the frantic beating of his heart. He was onto something, and he was scared to find out what he had hidden so deeply in his heart all along.

It was as if he was breaking his own Psyche Locks.

He remembered kissing Iris for the first time. He remembered how the emotion was so overwhelming that he thought his head would explode. He remembers walking around, foolishly disoriented because he was an overgrown boy who had just received his first kiss.

He imagined Miles taking her place.

What he imagined was really different but surprisingly... desirable.

He flipped over onto his stomach and buried his head under his pillow with a groan. How embarrassing. Was he really daydreaming about this?

_Definitely stooping to some new lows there, self._

Well, now that he had admitted it to himself, there was no going back now. He undeniably had feelings for Miles Edgeworth.

_All this time... this is what I've been feeling._

He realized what an idiot he had been to something as simple as his own feelings. Was it really so hard to accept that he felt that way towards his best friend? And was it really necessary to run away like an idiot when said friend confessed something very important to him as well?

He sighed and reached for his phone, clicking on his call history. He had called Miles several times and the other man never responded. He certainly wouldn't this time, and Phoenix knew there would be hell to pay if he dared confront him at his office.

He had no clue what he was going to do.

(He settled for tossing and turning the remainder of the night until sunrise, then regretted this decision.)

-.-

"We're out of food."

Maya said this while Phoenix was idly browsing the computer. He clicked on the link Larry had sent him, opening up to 'Never Gonna Give You Up.' He made a mental note to kill the other man later.

"Aren't we always?" Phoenix called back. He clicked the mouse multiple times to ex out of the video. The computer froze.

"Yeah, but the fridge is literally empty! When's the last time you went grocery shopping?"

After abandoning the computer as a hopeless cause, he pondered Maya's question. It had probably been a week and a half since he went shopping. He wondered since when he had become so forgetful.

"I'll go." Phoenix exited his office before shrugging into his coat. "Toss me my wallet?"

Maya didn't look happy doing it, as she was still secretly judging him from yesterday, but he ignored her and ventured outside into a brisk walk on the streets, glad to breathe fresh air and hopefully free his mind from all the thoughts of his best friend plaguing them.

He still hadn't done anything about it.

How was he supposed to? Was he supposed to apologize, or... confess back or do something else entirely? He didn't remember romance ever being this difficult... why was it so painful to think about all of this? Was he just not used to the fact that he now saw Miles in a different light?

Either way, he had screwed up. He had to fix it, and forced himself to brainstorm the possibilities as he finally reached the entrance of the grocery store, walked inside and picked up a basket.

_Maybe I should go buy something healthy for a change. Pearls has always been wanting to make us salad._

He decided that was what he would get first. After passing the very alluring pastries and even more alluring sample booths, he found himself at the vegetable racks: a place he usually never dared to venture upon.

_Tomatoes. Spinach. Cilantro. Edgeworth. Cauliflower. Lettuce._

He picked up a head of lettuce and examined it carefully, then nearly dropping it as his thoughts finally seemed to register within his mind.

"Edgeworth!?" Phoenix wielded the vegetable at him in shock. Miles stopped momentarily weighing tomatoes to recoil in shock at the sight in front of him. At sight of the not-so-threatening cabbage however, the look on his face turned into an unimpressed one.

"I don't have time for his," Miles sighed. He dropped the items in his cart and rolled it off near the check-out area back to the front. Phoenix was currently still recovering from heart failure from seeing the man he had been thinking about for so long. In only hit him a minute later that he should probably chase after him.

"Wait!" He managed to catch up to Edgeworth as he was exiting the double doors, with Phoenix wondering how the hell he had managed to bill his groceries that fast.

"I thought you would've run yourself out of town by now," Miles mumbled with a bit of malice, walk not slowing as Phoenix struggled to keep up with him.

"Oh, drop that already," Phoenix bit back. He didn't need to be guilt tripped now, of all times, when he just wanted to clear things up with Edgeworth once and for all.

Finally they stopped at the familiar red sports car, and Miles turned around to face him, as if asking, "_What?_"

Phoenix could feel his throat closing up under such a direct gaze from Miles. A tense silence commenced in the moments after that, simply exchanging intense stares as neither man dared to speak a word. Phoenix's eyes were burning from keeping them open too long, however, so he was the first to break eye contact.

"I wanted to apologize, Edgeworth," Phoenix begin unsurely. He hesitantly glanced up to observe Miles' reaction. When he didn't say anything, he took a deep breath, trying to steel himself for what he was going to say. Or to at least convince himself he was ready to say it. Oh god, what if he slipped up and said something stupid and -

_Now really isn't the time for this._

"I want to apologize for having such a reaction, and... not giving you a proper answer that day," Phoenix managed. He begin to blush again as he remembered what an idiot he had been.

Miles sighed as he recognized the ingenuity in the other man's voice. "I suppose I should apologize as well. I did not mean to shock you, really. I understand how what I said could be... overwhelming."

Phoenix shook his head. "No, I don't have an excuse. I'm your friend, and I should be there to listen and understand no matter what."

Something seemed to click in Miles' head at that moment, and he turned away to unlock the car's front door. "It's... fine, Wright. Just pretend it never happened."

"I'm not finished," Phoenix muttered in exaggeration, grasping Miles' shoulder to turn him around again. "It's just... I don't want to pretend it never happened, alright? It's..."

"It doesn't matter," Miles snapped suddenly, shrugging out of his grasp. "Forget it."

"I like the fact that you told me, okay?" Phoenix felt his heart stop at the realization of where this was going. This was it; it was now or never. Things were either going to end up really badly or really well.

_Knowing my luck, it may end up bad._

"What are you talking about?" Miles gave him a look of utter confusion as he crossed his arms over his chest. At least he was willing to listen, now.

"I just... I don't know, I realized a lot of things after that. It's not just you, it's me too. I think, it's kind of like... well, I mean... yeah-"

"Wright." Miles glared. "The point."

_Real smooth. What's wrong with me!?_

He released all of his tension with a sigh, before looking up to give him a shaky smile. "I feel the same way."

The very light drizzle outside had intensified to a steady downpour. Neither of them even seemed to realize the fact that it was raining. At the moment, all Miles could hear was silence; as he had shut everything else out at those words.

He had told him what he wanted to hear. It was so... surreal.

"You're... you're serious?" Miles wanted to hear him say it again.

Phoenix nodded without even thinking about it. "I feel the same way about you."

Miles shook his head in disbelief, a smirk of relief rising on his face "After the way you reacted last week..."

"I know, I know," Phoenix muttered, dreading that subject. "It was because I wasn't really aware of my feelings at the time."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "What made you realise?"

Phoenix paused. "We can talk about that later."

He chuckled, and in surprise, found Miles doing the same thing. They laughed in the rain for what seemed like forever, probably scaring the innocent people walking by them out in the parking lot.

"So... what happens now?"

"I will text you my address, and then we will go for coffee tonight. Pick me up at six?"

-.-

Now that Phoenix looked back on it, it wasn't entirely unorthodox. In fact, it was rather cliche.

_I mean, a confession in the rain? Seriously? _

He made sure to leave out the 'rain' part at least when he told Maya the whole story another week later.

"That's... romantic!" Rather than blushing and giggling like Pearl might have, Maya stared at Phoenix in awe. "It's so unlike you!"

"Thanks," Phoenix replied flatly. He could always count on Maya for some uplifting, friendly commentary.

Maya's eyes drifted to the ceiling as she stroked her chin thoughtfully. "So you guys are going out now?"

He nodded. "I guess so, yeah."

"What's it like?"

"Pretty much the same, really. It's only been a week."

"Only a week, huh?" Maya smirked and chuckled suddenly, very unlike her usual childish laughter.

"What is it?" Phoenix asked suspiciously, wary of her laugh. Never had it sounded that... evil.

"It's kind of weird... yet cute to imagine you and Mr. Edgeworth all couple-y, you know? What did he say when you first kissed him?"

Luckily, Phoenix had already swallowed the sip of coffee so he didn't end up spitting it out. However, this didn't stop him from choking on his own spit instead.

_I really am a lost cause..._

"That's personal!" he finally spluttered, feeling his face warm at the mention of something he had pushed out his brain a long time ago.

"Tell me!" Maya ignored all protests and chanted this over and over with pokes in the arm to match the rhythm.

Knowing that his assistant to leave him alone any time soon was highly unlikely, Phoenix caved with a sigh of resignation. "We haven't yet."

Her jaw dropped in shock. "You're kidding me! It's been a week!"

"That's not that long of a time," Phoenix pointed out defensively, tone slightly huffy.

"You're both grown adults, not awkward teenagers!"

_Funny how she pin-pointed exactly how I feel around him sometimes..._

"He hasn't initiated anything that intimate yet, so I never thought to either..." Phoenix gazed out the window in thought, wondering why the subject had slipped his mind.

"Of course he hasn't! It's Mr. _Edgeworth_! If anyone's at fault here, it's you, Nick!" Maya planted her hands on her hips, puffing up her cheeks in what appeared to be disbelief.

The Steel Samurai theme begin sounding throughout the office.

"Oh look, it's my phone. Shame. Maya, I'll have to talk to you later."

"When are you seeing him again?"

"Tonight?"

"You're doing it tonight. I don't care. I don't care. You're doing it _tonight._"

-.-

He had already drank two beers. It had been fifteen minutes.

"You seem nervous." Miles was straightforward, all the time.

Phoenix _was_ nervous. Since when did he have to get drunk to convince himself to _kiss_ someone? It wasn't even that big of a deal! He was _dating_ him, for Christ's sake!

_Then again, the only thing we've done is hugged. That's when I do it, too._

All of their meetings... or dates, had been at bars or restaurants. Maybe that was the problem. Before Phoenix could change his mind, he stood up and tilted his direction in the head of the door. "Let's go for a walk."

Miles had scrunched his brow in the suddenness of it all, but seemed to dismiss it quickly. Maybe he had become used to the enigma that was Phoenix. Or perhaps that was giving him too much credit, he thought, as he proceeded to be distracted by the foam sitting at the bottom of his cup.

"Let's," Miles agreed instead. He slid out of his side of the table and followed Phoenix outside as he held the door open for him. They settled into a comfortable pace on the sidewalks lining the streets of L.A. The breath of fresh air was very welcoming.

"What do you wanna do?" Phoenix grinned at him as they walked, and Miles had to suppress a smirk at his usual childish tact.

"You're the one who dragged us out of there," Miles pointed out. "You decide."

"Let's go to that tattoo parlor." Phoenix couldn't suppress the chuckles at the sight of Miles' face. "Seriously, it would be fun!" He took a hold of Miles' hand and forcibly dragged him across the street to the small shop set up, and they looked through the window.

"I wonder if they do attorney's badges," Phoenix wondered aloud, pressing his nose to the glass.

"I can't believe you're actually considering it." Miles gave him a look.

"I forgot you had no sense of humor."

Phoenix had turned away to face Miles to deliver his phenomenal comeback line, complete with smug smirk.

_I'm too good._

When they momentarily glanced at each other the same time, both seemed to become aware of something. Miles flushed and looked down at the hand that held his, and swung it lightly. "You're still..."

"Sorry," Phoenix said quickly, dropping the hand like it was fire. "I won't if you don't want me to."

"It's not..." Miles shook his head and reached for Phoenix's hand again, grasping it gingerly like he was unsure.

Regaining his confidence, Phoenix intertwined their fingers together. "You love it, really."

"You're impossible," Miles retorted, unable to restrain the smirk.

The tension in the air didn't dissipate, even after the lighthearted banter. They remained blowing steam from their mouths into the chill autumn air, the sounds of traffic and the lights blaring in their eyes from the lamp post above them suddenly all very distant.

_Maybe I should..._

Phoenix knew he wouldn't have the guts to do it later. In a very swift movement, he held both of Miles' hands and pulled him forward to press his lips to his in a very hesitant, light kiss.

Anything resembling thoughts and words left his head as Phoenix simply welcomed the feeling of being so close to Miles. The hazy sensation of his soft hair brushing against his face was indescribable. Phoenix wished to hold this cosy feeling close to his heart.

It only lasted seconds, though. Phoenix pulled away when he realized what he had done, and caught a look at Miles' face. He was practically glowing red, hand hovering uncertainly over his mouth.

_I'm not sure if that's... a positive reaction?_

"Sorry," he said quickly, internally cringing. "If you didn't like it. I won't do it again if you don't want me to. Like ever."

Miles shook his head yet again, smiling slightly as he vainly tried to keep his heartbeat in check. "No, it's fine. _It_... was good."

Phoenix couldn't believe this. Maya was totally right. They were acting like grade children. Was it simply because of the other's uncertainty all along? They had been apart for fifteen long years, maybe he thought things had changed.

Phoenix was sure he was blushing, but another glance at Miles' face told him he was probably feeling the same way.

_He feels the same way._

Phoenix suddenly shook his head, realizing how ridiculous this all was.

_Screw it._

To hell it with it, Phoenix thought as he dove in for another kiss. He wrapped his arms around the other man and deepened the kiss, savoring the feeling of his lips against his own. Miles kissed back slowly, and Phoenix could feel his hands shaking. He backed him up against the wall and didn't let go for a long time.

Totally worth it. Being awkward could wait for another time.

Right now, he kissed him harder.

* * *

**A/N:**

**WOW THIS WAS... WOW. I'm sorry. I really needed to see my OTP be cute and awkward together. Plus, it's not OOC on Miles' part, seeing how it's pretty obvious he's romantically illiterate? He'd need someone like Phoenix to take the initiative. Phoenix's obliviousness, on the other hand, is m personal headcanon. Have you SEEN him around women? **

**Some references to OFFAFA in here. ;) Kudos if you can find those! That's a great fic, by the way. The ultimate narumitsu fic on the website, in my opinion. **

**Pleaseeeee review and give me your thoughts/opinions! Also correct me if there are mistakes! I want to know what you think. Only follow/favorite if you leave a review, please. :-)**


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